Fantasy Football WRs to Target Late In Drafts

The end of a draft can be just as important as the beginning. Last season, in our 14 team league, Greg Jennings was a 9th round pick, Doug Baldwin, Jordan Matthews and Kenny Stills went in the 10th, James Jones the 11th and finally Steve Smith Sr. in the 12th round! They all finished as Top 50 WRs. It only takes one play (or injury) to turn into a fantasy football stud, and the following WRs have that potential in 2015.

Fantasy Pros blends projections from CBS, ESPN, FFToday and Pro Football Focus. These were the 7 WRs projected to earn at least 100 fantasy PPR points and being drafted in the 9th round or later, according to FantasyFootballCalculator.com.

LaFell is battling a foot injury. Make sure you pay attention to this closer to your draft date. He will also be without Tom Brady for the first 4 games and the Pats have a BYE Week 5, so you are looking at LaFell starting for you in Week 6. Worth a late round pick as he scored 7 TDs and gained 953 yards last season with New England, but be smart about when you draft him!

The Jets QB situation is not ideal, with Geno Smith and Ryan Fitzpatrick, but Decker returns to a WR2 role which he will benefit from. Let's not forget, he once caught 8 TDs from Tim Tebow/Kyle Orton and put up 962 yards with 5 TDs last season. Playing next to Brandon Marshall, Decker should find himself playing against weaker DBs. A new HC and OC make it hard to predict much of anything, but if Decker can see near 100 targets again, he will put up solid numbers for fantasy owners during BYE weeks and as an injury replacement.

Boldin has had two solid years in San Fran, posting 168 recptions for 2,241 yards and 12 touchdowns. I don't imagine him seeing 130 targets for a third straight season, but with Torrey Smith taking defenders deep down the field, Reggie Bush coming out of the backfield and a healthy Vernon Davis, there is no reason why Boldin can eclipse the 1,000 yard mark for a 3rd straight season. The Niners will operate completely different on offense with a new HC, OC and no Frank Gore, but I am one of the few believers in Colin Kaepernick and if they let him loose, the 49ers will be fun to watch on Sundays.

Wright doubled his career TD total with 6 touchdowns in 2014. That came with Zach Mettenberger under center most of the season. This year he will get to catch passes for Marcus Mariota. By default, he should have a better season than last year. He only caught 57 passes last season, hurting PPR owners, but he should be able to get his targets back up over 100 and be a more useful PPR WR4/5 who can fill in during BYE weeks.

Smith joins a new look 49ers offense and his success will rely on Kaepernick's decision making. He tied a career low in receptions (49) and set a career low in receiving yards (767) last season with Joe Flacco and the Ravens. However, he did score 11 touchdowns. To many mouths to feed in the Bay Area for 11 TDs to be repeated but I love him in non-PPR leagues late in drafts.

Scoring:

20 yards = 1 point

Reception = .5 point

Touchdown = 6 points

Deeper Leagues

The Seattle Seahawks have a weapon in Jimmy Graham that could change the way the offense operates and the defenses game plan. We know Seattle is a ground and pound team with Marshawn Lynch in the backfield. Russell Wilson only attempted 452 passes, which led to Baldwin leading the team with 66 receptions, 98 targets 825 yards. He scored just three touchdowns, one behind Lynch who led the team. However, they did connect on 15 plays for 20+ yards. Baldwin should be able to feast off all the attention defenses pay Graham/Lynch/Wilson.

How quickly people can forget 71 catches for 938 yards. The return of Victor Cruz has made Randle an afterthought in fantasy football, it is important to remember that Cruz is returning from a gruesome knee injury. He will be on the field often as the Giants prefer to run three-wide sets with Cruz in the slot. When you add Shane Vereen in the backfield, you can expect a ton on one-on-one coverage on Randle and he has proven to be difficult to cover.